It's All Over
by CDinga22
Summary: Story about a few survivors in the zombie apocalypse. Diverse plot, off-brands itself from walking dead quite a bit. Hope you give it a chance! Reviews more than welcome
1. Prologue

Hey guys, I'm new to the community. This is a zombie apocalypse novel. Just the prologue, but will release Ch1 tonight because its already done. Reviews appreciated(:

Prologue

I grew up with the phrase 'once upon a time' starting my bedtime stories, which I'm sure was the same for many others. It started countless possibilities of every story imaginable; some filled with love, some filled with adventure, some filled with a different reality than our own that only belonged to the land of the dream world. By starting the story with 'once upon a time', the phrase 'and they all lived happily ever after' inevitably ended these twist-filled plots of fairytales and dreamers. These two simple phrases gave me the sense of hope of my upending future; perhaps, one day, I'll grow up to live a life of fantasy and happiness. Perhaps one day, I will get my happily ever after too, just like all those characters in the stories.

Though what these two simple phrases didn't prepare me for was the ambiguity of reality and how the world I know can change within the shortest spaces of times, to something in nightmares. I never could have imagined what was left of the world now, back then, back when fairy tales were something of hope in my eyes. Back in what seemed like a different time now, the simple things like traffic and work schedules were the biggest stresses in life. The time before survival was the only thing that mattered - the balance between life and death hanging on a much less nimble thread.

We had been stripped down to mere beings, whose only bid now was to survive. Fighting to stay alive was a daily duty and something that had to be learned quick. There was no time for the weak. Times for hopes and dreams were gone now and all that was left was the bitterness and raw inevitability that was the extinction of the human race - that's what it seemed.

There was no happily ever afters any more and it seemed that world just had to deal with it.


	2. Chapter 2

"What're you doing! You heard her, we need to leave. Now, Jeremy!" Claire exclaimed in utter confusion of her brother not following the policewoman's orders. ******************************************************This Novel is written in Third Person (Omni) Writing Style

April 14, 2016. That was the day no one would forget. It was the day the clocks stopped ticking.

"Something's off." Jeremy Waters said to his sister, Claire, on his way home from school on this crisp Friday night. Jeremy had just finished his baseball practice, he played for the local high school team, _Mondale Memorial High_.

' _It's as if the air is trying to tell us something'_ he thought. This whole day had been somewhat bizarre, everything seemed to be the opposite of average, which was a large change in his life. Everything about his life felt average, although, Jeremy almost preferred it that way. He lived in a mid-sized house, went to an average school, and did everything that normal 17 year old boys do. Jeremy gently tapped on the breaks, as if a car in front of him had slowed down, but they were the only car on the lonely hillside road.

"What're you doing Jer'? The speed limit is 45, not 30." Claire said with a strong scent of sarcasm. Claire was everything her brother was not, she was the exact opposite of normal. Jeremy always thought her parents prefered Claire to him. She was very attractive, every guy in school wanted to go with her to all the dances. She also was a talented musician and artist.

"Hold up. I saw a person, in the woods. It almost looked like he was limping." He said more to himself than his sister.

"C'mon Jer, I'm gonna go to the mall at 7. Stop fooling around." She responded.

On they drove home to their suburban house in Southern Minnesota. They just got into their neighborhood when he saw his neighbor, Mr. Jenkins getting shot at by police. A policemen stopped their car, Jeremy hit the breaks.

"Get outta' here kids. Trust me, you don't want to be in the radius when this shit happens." The woman told them in a strong, almost venomous voice. They could tell she wasn't joking, they needed to leave. Jeremy backed up the car until he was off the street where cop cars were blockading, and parked right on the outside of the entrance.

"One sec', jus' wanna see what this is all about. Knew I saw something in the woods. Just wait here, Claire. " He said, as he slowly got out of the car. He didn't shut the door to the blue Tahoe, afraid it would make too much noise. He crept quietly over a fence, landing on a mushy pile of mud. He passed three houses, sulking through the backyards. He needed to get a good view of Mr. Jenkins. _There,_ he knew he had found a great opening to see the fiasco, without being found. He hid behind a cluster of bushes by the 5th house on the left of the street. He saw Mr. Jenkins, now getting off of the ground. Cops were holding him at gunpoint, at least 12 Glock-22's held up at the man. It was odd, as if Mr. Jenkins didn't even care, like he didn't even see the guns _at all_!

"Freeze! Hands behind your head." The chief officer said, holding up a megaphone. "We _will_ shoot. Drop to the ground." But once again, Jenkins showed no sign of fear as he kept limping over near the police, no further than 15 yards away. Jeremy immediately remembered what he had seen in the woods, the elderly man limping, the same type of physical ailment seen across Mr. Jenkins body currently. Jenkins kept approaching the cop car, it looked as if he was staring right through them, or like he wasn't seeing anything at all. Jeremy was so taken-aback by this whole experience, he just wished he could be at home with his parents. The female cop shot at him, and hit Jenkins directly in the chest. Jeremy's head started to pound, he couldn't stand to look back at the lifeless body of his old neighbor. But suddenly, there was yet another shot. Jeremy turned back and saw Mr. J still standing, and still walking towards the car. The cop that spoke on the megaphone now shot at Jenkins. He hit him in the head and Jenkins immediately fell to the ground.

Claire had no idea what his brother was up to. They needed to either leave, as the cop had asked, or get to their home to see their mom and dad. Most of all they needed to find out what was going on. She hopped out of the car, anxious to get out of there, feeling goosebumps every time a car passed by. She looked across the street, opposite of where she assumed Jeremy was. There was an old farmhouse, with a few people just walking around outside. _Weird,_ she thought, _watching them for five minutes and it is like they are walking aimlessly, no sense of direction._

Jeremy was now walking back to the car. He was having trouble putting together what had transpired. "Jenkins was clearly shot in the chest. He should've died." He said aloud. He puzzled it in his mind all the way back to the car, his door opened just how he left it. A sense of ease fell over him. "Alright, let's get outta here, huh?" He said to his sister. But there was no response. He looked at the passenger side of the car. She was gone, and nowhere to be seen.


	3. Chapter 3

Claire set off to see what was happening on the mysterious farm. After what she'd seen on the street a while ago, she didn't wanna be seen out in public alone. So, she took the long way around the farm house, back by an old creek where she and Jeremy used to adventure as kids. She missed that now. She missed doing things with him. He was only 1 year older than her, but he acted like he had always had somewhere better to be.

She was now only about 50 yards away from the people who were walking in circles. She went to go see them, maybe they could help her, when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. One hand around her mouth, the other around her throat.

"Hey it's ok, I'm the good guy here. I'm going to let go of your mouth and you are not going to say anything." And he let go of her.

"Who are you?" Claire said, still very suspicious of the man. Claire guessed he was about 20 years old, he was very attractive. Curly black hair, and dark brown eyes, he had a very comforting presence about him, even though she didn't know him. He had a large hatchet connected to his pants, as well as a bow around his back.

"Blake Bellamy. And you are?" He answered her.

"Claire Waters. Do you know the people who are pacing in front of the barn?" She asked him.

"I wouldn't really call them people. But yeah, I knew them before it happened." He responded.

"Before what happened? I don't understand." She asked inquisitively.

"Claire, when people die now, they can still move. They're zombies. It's happening, the world, it's all over. Everything, is over." He told her.

Jeremy had no idea where his sister was. He searched frantically around the car and even a few streets down the block. He heard something inside a dense forest area, he didn't really know what to expect.

"Claire?" He called out. No response. Whoever-or whatever- it was just kept walking through the bushes. The thing was still out of sight, Jeremy began to worry. He picked up a pointed branch that had fallen off of a tree in the last thunderstorm. As the thing finally made its way out into the clearing, it looked like woman. But, it she was limping just the way Mr. Jenkins was, Jeremy didn't know what to do. _WHOOSH,_ an arrow whizzed by his head and went straight into the woman's chest. He looked in the direction in which the arrow had came, no further signs of movement. He turned back to the woman, and once again she was still walking. That was twice today he had seen someone that should have died, but somehow keeps going. Suddenly, another arrow came directly to the left of his head. This time, it had impaled the woman straight through the eye, and she dropped immediately.

Blake showed Claire through the back door of the barn. They climbed the ladder to the top window of the barn, overlooking the people who had turned.

"Who are they?" Claire asked, when she saw Blake look down at them with a gaze full of sadness.

"They're all family. My mom, dad, two brothers, and my uncle." He said while tearing up. "I let them down. I couldn't save them, and now that they're dead I'm too weak to even put them out of their misery." He said, looking down at the hay bales in which they now laid.

"I'm not sure, but I think my parents are gone too. I'm too weak to even check. I don't think I could stand seeing them dead, or worse, like this." She responded. They looked up into the night sky. There were an abundance of stars filling the open air. Other than the chirp of crickets, there wasn't a sound in the air.

"It feels like we're the only two people left in the world." He said, not taking his gaze off of the romantic night sky. Claire looked over at Blake and sat up, _It does feel like that_ she thought. He swung her left arm over top of him, and gently planted a kiss on his cheek.

Jeremy immediately dropped the stick he had been using as a weapon.

"Who's there?" Jeremy called out timidly. Nobody responded, but someone slowly got out of a few shrubs right up the road, no further than 50 feet away. He had a crossbow raised at Jeremy. Then lowered it, and smiled. _How are you smiling?_ Jeremy thought. But, the man still grinning quickly walked toward him and reached out a hand, Jeremy accepted the firm handshake.

"Sorry 'bout that. Thought ya were one of 'em." He said. Sensing Jeremy puzzling look he quickly retorted. "Oh, introductions, right? The name's Finn."


	4. Chapter 4

Flashback:

Blake Bellamy stood in front of the rain soaked red barn, looking down, sobbing tears that blend in with the rain. His dark hair covering his eyebrows, his eyes squinted in pain, he picked up a gun lying on the ground. It was his father's. He now looked at his father, and held up the silver gun at him. He paused, sights locked in on him, he couldn't pull the trigger. While the rain continued to pour down on his neck, his fingertips felt as cold as ice, he couldn't even feel them anymore.

"You coward! You couldn't do it 5 years ago, and you still can't! Damnit Bellamy!" He yelled out at himself, until his throat started to hurt.

When Blake woke up, it was probably around 9:00 in the morning. The sun already near the top of its rise, he looked down at his shirtless chest. Claire's flowing brown hair lay across it. He slowly lifted his neck, and gently kissed the top of her head. He didn't know what it was, but he knew he could trust her. He felt safe with her—or, as safe as he could feel with anyone in this brutal world. Claire awoke, startled. She almost completely jumped up from the floor.

"I just had a— oh, so it wasn't a dream. There's zombies still, all of it is still… here?" She asked Blake, even though she knew the answer to her own question. Blake put his arms behind his head, propping himself up.

"Yes princess, it's here." He replied.

Claire's thoughts now turned to her brother, Jeremy. Although she thought he was an egotistical jerk at times, she needed him. She barely even knew Blake, she couldn't just stay with him forever. She needed her brother.

"I've gotta go find him" She quietly told him.

"Find who?" He answered.

"My brother. He's family, you can come if you want, I'd love to have you with us, but I need to find him." She said.

"Of course. We'll find him, and then find some shelter until the government finds a cure for this whole debacle." Blake replied, showing compassion for Claire. Blake secretly didn't want her brother to be with them. In his perfect scenario, the two of them would find a group somewhere with shelter. At least this is better than the world before it went to shit he thought to himself.

Jeremy, at first, didn't know what to think of Finn. He had nearly shot Jeremy with two arrows a few minutes before. Now, he stands before this "Finn" and tries to come up with a decent estimate of what he is like. Finn wasn't a very tall man, but no slouch either, probably around 6'0". He was most likely around 27 or 28 years old, but he looked well before his years. He was very youthful, yet very laid back as well.

"Sorry about almost hittin' ya', didn' mean to, honest." Finn apologized to Jeremy. Finn had a very recognizable British accent, but you could tell he had been in America for at least a year or two. "It almost looked like ya' were gonna let bloody zombie kill ya!" He kept talking to Jeremy although he hadn't offered a response yet. The word 'zombie' made it all come together for Jeremy. That would explain Mr. Jenkins, and the woman. He assumed the whole world was like it now. He felt a jolt of pain rush up his spine, and felt as if it went into his lungs. He had a hard time breathing because of how much anxiety flooded his body.

"Claire. I have to find Claire. Let me go." He finally said to Finn.

"You aren't a bloody 'ostage. Is Claire your sissy? You can't go out in the open without a weapon, mate." He replied to Jeremy.

"Do you have another one for me?" Jeremy asked.

"Well yea! But you'll have to come back to my little apartment in the middle of town. And that's a bit risky to get to nowadays, mate." Finn answered. Jeremy still didn't know what to think of him. But Finn was right, he couldn't make it a day without a weapon, let alone find Claire.

Blake continued to follow Claire down the valley, towards the middle of town. They had been looking for Jeremy for probably close to an hour now, and still no luck.

"Claire, look, I know you want your brother and everything, but you dying won't help save him. We're walking right into a cluster-fuck of zombies. About 2 miles more into the center of town are an abundance of them. This is just not a good idea." Blake pleaded with her.

"You can turn back if you want, Bellamy. But I gotta find him. Here—" She handed him a picture of Jeremy from her wallet. "If you see him, yell for me. I'm gonna check down this next street."

Jeremy had a hard time keeping up with the now sprinting Finn. They dodged multiple groups of zombies, as well as a few camp outs of other survivors. They were yet to be seen, while they were rounding the last corner to Finn's apartment, Finn stopped. He held out an arm, suggesting for Jeremy to yield.

"Get down!" Finn whispered, although it was full of urgency.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked.

"Another chap out there, no more than 100 yards down the street. Walking this way, but pretty slowly. He didn' see me at least."

Blake now paced down the street. There were zombies everywhere in this part of town. You better be fuckin' right about this girl, Bellamy. He said to himself. Suddenly, dead ahead there was movement in some bushes, right on the outside of an old apartment complex. There were two people, they slowly climbed out of the bushes, one of them with a crossbow. Although the crossbow was pointed at him, he believed these men wanted no trouble. The one following what looked like the leader, was no older that 18. He quickly took the wrinkled picture of Claire's brother out of his pocket. He was sure it was him. One hand still on the gun, he squeezed the picture into a tight ball.

Jeremy followed Finn out of the bushes. They now we're only a few steps from the stairs of the apartment. The man still held his semi-auto pointed directly at him.

"Jeremy?" The man called out. Jeremy looked at the man, he didn't quite recognize him, but maybe he was a friend. He had to get a better look of him. He hopped out from behind Finn, into the open.

"Yes… Who are—" He was responding to the man, as a bullet sprung from the pistol. Jeremy was in utter shock. At first he didn't feel pain, he just saw red pools of blood spit out from his shoulder. Then, the pain set in. He was yelling, Finn was over top of him, saying something. He couldn't hear him, and his vision was blurry too. Then there was no vision at all. He quickly faded into darkness.

Claire heard a gunshot just on the other side of houses that she was now searching for her brother.

"Blake!" She yelled. As a stream of anxiety flooded over her. She had already been separated from her brother, she couldn't lose her new friend too. She sprinted down the alley-way leading to the other side of the street. Then, she spotted Blake, sprinting down the alley towards her.

"Turn around! We need to go! No time to explain! Follow me." He told her.

They ran out of the neighborhood, but Blake didn't lead her back to the barn in which they had stayed the night before. There was an old gravel road that the kept running on for what seemed like hours.

"Alright. We should be good now." He said to her. They just reached a supermarket that was still under construction. He then wrapped his arms around her. He was shaking, but the warmth of Claire brought a small sense of relief to him. Claire felt comfortable around him. This is good. He is good. This could work. She thought.


	5. Chapter 5

Flashback:

Jeremy and Claire were alone, in the basement of their 3 story house. It was the middle of winter, in fact, Christmas morning was only two weeks away. Jeremy had been laying on a blow up mattress, playing video games. Claire on a bean-bag styled chair, looking intensely at her phone.

"Jer— I was wondering, d'you want to maybe do something together tonight?" Claire asked. She wished he would hang out with her more, she really looked up to him. Jeremy didn't respond, just kept staring at the small television set broadcasting his video game. "C'mon, it'd be fun. We can do whatever you want!" She tried to persuade him.

"No."

"We have to get out of the city. Get out in the country, there will be less of them there." Blake said while looking out into the open cornfields to the west.

"Alright. Let's go, but first, tell me what happened back there." Claire said.

"They were charging at me, at least 15 zombies headed right for me. I shot one, but I knew I could shoot them all in time. There is no way your brother survived that horde if he was in that neighborhood." He told her with a look of compassion. Claire realized this. She knew her brother was most likely taken from her forever. She didn't know what to do. She didn't wanna just leave him, without even knowing. But Blake was right, her dying wouldn't help him at all. She just had to accept it, and she liked Blake. She thought he could keep her safe. They headed out, on their journey to the country.

When they had reached the southern tip of Minnesota, heading into Iowa, they stopped in their tracks. Three zombies stood before them, limping towards them. Blake still had his father's gun, but Claire had no weapon. Blake shot at the zombie that was closest to them. The bullet went straight through it's shoulder. He shot again, this time connecting with the zombie's head. It dropped, blood sputtering out his forehead.

"Get behind me." Blake ordered Claire. He wanted to protect her. He really did care about her. He grabbed a knife from the pocket of his faded jeans, and roses the gun back to Claire. She had never shot a gun before, and was scared to protect him. Blake sliced the second zombie with the knife, but couldn't pull it out of it's head in time. He had no weapon with the third zombie on him. He punched it in the face, and it stumbled backwards. He picked up a large rock, at least 3 feet long, and smashed it's head in after multiple thrusts.

They had only encountered two more zombies in the rest of their trek. They had been moving West for an hour now, and for now are camped upside the Sawhatchee creek, in which Claire currently stands, ankle deep, trying to hook some fish. Up the slope, Blake's behind her, straddling a fallen log and cleaning and loading the guns. Claire splashes some water on her face and neck, feeling the cool drops drip down the back of her shirt. The refreshment of it only lasts a second; there's no escaping the oppressive humidity and heat. She can feel her shoulders are burning again. Iowan summers can be miserable, with little relief from the heat and the heavy stifling air, but she does not look forward to a winter on the road. They need to find something, some place. There has to be a place. They cannot go on like this indefinitely... They will find something, she tells herself. They will be okay. Safe.

"Any luck?" Blake calls to her from up the bank where he works.

Claire turns back and sees him squinting at her; she shakes her head. "Uh, uh." She wipes the pooling sweat off her brow with her forearm and studies the ripples in the water, "They're not bitin' on what I've got."

Blake scratches his temple with a revolver, "Shoot, those fish've had it ea-sy. Nobody catchin' 'em for close to three years? They gotta

be teamin'. We'll get 'em; they're just a little self-satisfied right now, gotta take 'em down a notch."

Claire turns back to the water, smiling a little. When she glances back over her shoulder she catches him still squinting in her direction; Blake drops his head and returns to the guns. After two hours already Claire reels in her line some and sets the rod in a piling of rocks to hopefully do the work for her. She rinses off her hands in the river, and drying them on her jeans heads back up the bank to camp. Blake doesn't look up, just keeps at his task, and so she busies herself with setting the camp straight, sorting their meager supplies, checking their water. They would camp there for the night.

"I can't believe it's only been a couple days since I first met you by the barn. So much has changed since then." Claire said, looking up to the sunset, resting her head on Blake's bicep.

"I don't even know who I am anymore." Blake pondered.

"C'mon Blake, you saved me. If it weren't for you I'd be dead. Your a great guy." She said as she kissed his neck. They laid in silence for the next hour, not a word being said while the sun set down.


End file.
